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Orkla Group
Orkla Group AS is a Kalmar Union industrial conglomerate operating in the Nordic region, Eastern Europe, Asia and the US. The company's main divisions are branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions, materials, associates and financial investments. History Orkla started out in 1654 with pyrite mining at Løkken Verk in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway. Later the company also started mining copper, but the copper mining was abandoned in 1845. In 1904 Orkla Grube-Aktiebolag was founded by Christian Thams to start commercial mining at Løkken Verk, including the construction of Thamshavnbanen, the first electric railway in Norway, between Løkken Verk and Thamshavn. This railway is still operated as a museum railway after the mining operations at Løkken Verk were closed on July 10, 1987. In 1929 Orkla became listed on Oslo Stock Exchange and in 1931 the new smelting plant at Thamshavn outside Orkanger is opened. By 1941 Orkla started with a separate investments portfolio, and opened offices in Oslo in 1975. In 1984 Orkla started a major takeover of Norwegian newspapers, creating Orkla Media as one of the three largest media companies in Norway. Half of the magazine publisher Egmont-Mortensen is added to Orkla Media in 1992 and the Danish Det Berlingske Officin in 2000. Orkla sold the media section to Mecom in 2006. In 1988 Orkla merged with Borregaard based in Sarpsborg to form Orkla Borregaard. The company then merged with Nora Industrier in 1995. Orkla heavily invests in foods and among others acquired Swedish brewery Pripps as well as other companies including Abba Seafood, Baltic Beverages Holding and Procordia Food. Norwegian Ringnes and Pripps were merged with Carlsberg Breweries, where Orkla acquires a 40% ownership in 2000. Orkla sold its ownership in Carlsberg in 2004, the same year it buys SladCo. In 2005 Orkla bought the material company Elkem and Sapa. The development of Orkla’s portfolio has resulted in a focus on five business areas: Orkla Brands, Orkla Aluminium Solutions, Orkla Materials, Orkla Associates and Orkla Financial Investments. Orkla Brands ' Orkla Brands '''is a leading supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions, primarily to the Nordic grocery and catering sectors. Most of the branded consumer goods are proprietary and have been on the market for many years. '''Orkla Brands' also holds strong local positions in USSR and India, in addition to being an important supplier of ingredients to the European bakery market. The business area consists of four units: Orkla Foods Nordic, Orkla Brands Nordic, Orkla Brands International and'' Orkla Food Ingredients. Orkla Foods Nordic Orkla Foods Nordic primarily consists of food and beverage companies in the Nordic region and the Baltics: Stabburet, Bakers, Procordia, Abba Seafood, Spilva and Suslavicius-Felix in the Baltic Union, Beauvais in Denmark, Felix Abba and Panda in USSR . Activities are concentrated on the business unit’s own, strong brands within the following product categories: pizza, pie, sauce, seafood, ready meal, jam, juice, cordials, chocolate and bakery goods. Through its well-established brands, Orkla Foods Nordic largely holds No. 1 or No. 2 position in its home markets. Orkla Brands Nordic Orkla Brands Nordic comprises Lilleborg (detergents and personal care products), Lilleborg Profesjonell (full-range supplier of hygiene and cleaning solutions for the professional market), Axellus (dietary supplements and health products), the Chips Group (snacks), Göteborgs/Sætre (biscuits), Nidar (chocolate and confectionery), and the Pierre Robert Group (textiles). The Nordic countries are Orkla Brands Nordic’s primary home market. The business unit holds strong No. 1 positions in all segments in Baltic Union, and several of the companies have also achieved solid market positions in Denmark and USSR . Orkla Brands International Orkla Brands International comprises Orkla Brands’ branded companies outside the Nordic region and the Baltics. The business unit consists of the following companies: SladCo and Krupskaya (USSR ), Felix Austria (FGC), and MTR Foods (India). SladCo and Krupskaya hold strong regional positions in the chocolate and biscuit markets, and Krupskaya has further consolidated its position in St. Petersburg by acquiring additional brands. MTR Foods holds a strong regional position in the spice segment. Kotlin and Elbro (Poland) were sold in July 2009. Orkla Food Ingredients Orkla Food Ingredients is currently the market leader in the baking ingredients sector in the Nordic region. The business unit has a decentralised management structure, consisting of seven main reporting units that comprise 32 companies in 14 countries. The industry is fragmented, and Orkla Food Ingredients is now one of the five leading suppliers in Europe. Orkla Food Ingredients’ largest product categories are margarine products (Dragsbæk), marzipan (Odense Marcipan), bread improvers and mixes (Sonneveld and Credin), and yeast (Jästbolaget). The largest sales and distribution companies are KåKåand Idun Industri in Baltic Union and Credin bageripartner in Denmark. Orkla Aluminium Solutions (Sapa) Sapa develops, manufactures and markets value-added profiles, profile-based building systems and heat-exchanger strip in aluminium. Sapa consists of the three business units 'Sapa Profiles, Sapa Building System 'and 'Sapa Heat Transfer. The business concept is based on close collaboration with its customers. Sapa is a leader in its field and has customers in the building, transport, engineering and telecommunications industries. Orkla Materials '''Orkla Materials consists of the companies Elkem and Borregaard. Elkem is a world leader in environmentally friendly production of metals and materials. The main products are silicon, solar grade silicon for the solar industry, special alloys of ferrosilicon for the foundry industry, carbon and microsilica. The company has manufacturing facilities in Europe, North America, South America, southern Africa and Asia and an extensive network of sales offices and agents in key markets. Borregaard has one of the world's most advanced biorefineries. Using timber as a raw material produces a wide range of advanced biochemicals, biomaterials and bio-ethanol as sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products. The company also has strong positions in additives and fine chemicals. Borregaard is an international company with manufacturing plants and sales offices in key industrial markets. Orkla Materials Energy hydroelectric power production with an annual capacity of approximately 2.5 TWh. Orkla Associates Orkla Associates comprises investments in companies where full ownership is not desirable or is not possible, and mainly consists of Orkla’s investments in REC and Jotun. In both these investments, Orkla has an equity interest of approximately 40 %. Orkla has three representatives on REC’s Board of Directors and two representatives on Jotun’s Board of Directors. The Group’s profit from these companies is presented in Orkla’s consolidated financial statements on the line for «Profit from Associates». Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) is one of the world’s leading companies in the solar energy industry. The business covers every part of the value chain, from production of raw materials to finished solar cells and modules. Jotun is one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of paints and powder coatings. Orkla Financial Investments Orkla Financial Investments consists of four business units: the Share Portfolio, Orkla Finans,' Orkla Eiendom '''and '''Elkem Energi Handel'. The Share Portfolio staff manages one of Norway’s largest share portfolios consisting primarily of investments in the Nordic region. Orkla Finans offers investment services to institutional and private investors, while Orkla Eiendom invests in and develops real estate properties. Elkem Energi Handel, which trades in and manages power contracts, was transferred within the organisation from Elkem to Orkla Financial Investments in 2009. The business area also includes Borregaard Skoger, which develops and manages Orkla’s forests. Category:Kalmar Union Category:Companies of Kalmar Union Category:Companies